Greenhouse gas emissions in the United States have fallen nearly 10 per cent from 2005 to 2012, more than halfway toward the US 2020 target pledged at United Nations climate talks.
The latest national emissions inventory showed that emissions dropped 3.4 per cent from 2011 to 2012, mostly due to a decrease in energy consumption and fuel switching from coal to natural gas.
Reuters Newsagency reports the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the 19th annual US emissions tally to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The US uses 2005 pollution levels as its benchmark to measure emissions cuts, and has a target to lower emissions by 17 per cent from that starting point by 2020.
Reuters reports since 1990, the first year the US kept the inventory, carbon dioxide emissions, largely energy-related emissions and the most prevalent greenhouse gas, rose just 5.4 per cent.
Meanwhile hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), super greenhouse gases used primarily as refrigerants, saw a dramatic rise of more than 309 per cent.
The administration of President Barack Obama has taken steps to reduce these emissions through bilateral and multilateral agreements with major polluters, including China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, and India.
Reuters reports the EPA prepares the annual report in collaboration with other federal agencies and is subject to public comments.
The figures follow the release of the latest UN study from the expert team of climate scientists, which said governments must act faster to keep global warming in check.
It also said that a radical shift from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy such as wind, solar or nuclear power would shave only about 0.06 of a percentage point a year off world economic growth.
The report, endorsed by governments, is meant as the main scientific guide for nations working on a UN deal to be agreed in late 2015 to rein in greenhouse gas emissions that have hit repeated highs this century, led by China’s industrial growth.
The climate action plan of President Obama’s administration, now being implemented, is expected to ensure the US meets its 17 per cent target by 2020.
